Eurosceptics and pro-Europeans less confident in the solidity and cohesion of the community bloc, put to the test over the past year, were proven wrong. Despite the inherent hesitations, when national interests were at stake, and the marginal opposition of Hungary, the countries of the European Union positioned themselves correctly towards the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The harsh sanctions against Moscow and the unconditional support given to Ukraine on multiple levels bear witness. And the EU members made another difficult decision: they considerably reduced their dependence on Russian gas and oil, assuming the consequences of the energy crisis getting deeper.
Russia’s aggression on Ukraine has dominated, since its debut, a year ago, the meetings of the EU foreign ministers. It was also the case on Monday, when the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced a tenth package of sanctions against Russia. The measures would target four more Russian banks, as well as imports from Russia, including of rubber, and exports to Russia, including, among other things, heavy machinery.
Borrell said that Russia has intensified its attacks and, as such, Ukraine needs more substantial arms deliveries at a faster pace. He believes that, given that the European production of armaments cannot increase from one day to the next, one of the solutions would be the delivery of the armaments already stockpiled in the member countries. On the other hand, the European Union wants to sanction the entities that deliver weapons to Russia, as is the case with Iran.
Present at the meeting, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, proposed to his EU counterparts to draw up a separate package of sanctions targeting entities or persons who try to destabilize the Republic of Moldova, as part of the hybrid war waged by Russia in the area of Ukraine. Among these pro-Russian entities are politicians and oligarchs from Chisinau. Aurescu mentioned the need for establishing a civilian EU mission for Moldova and supporting the setting-up of a center to combat disinformation.
As regards European integration, the Romanian minister stressed the need for the irreversible anchoring of the Republic of Moldova into the EU, with an emphasis on the creation of an action plan for integration on the internal market and interconnection with the EU in the field of electricity, through Romania. As for Ukraine, Aurescu recalled the multidimensional support that Romania provided over the past year – the transit of approximately 13 million tons of exported Ukrainian grain, economic facilities, the opening of new border points to increase connectivity, support for refugees and humanitarian aid, bilateral assistance to support the European path of Ukraine.
Bucharest stands for a rapid adoption of new sanctions against Russia, the continuation of financial assistance and the intensification of efforts to find legal ways to hold accountable those guilty of the atrocities committed in Ukraine.
(Ștefan Stoica, Radio Romania International)
